In Review: Camp Lanier
I don’t know about you, but this summer hasn’t been very summery. I think the weather is still trying to make up its mind. And while I wait for better days, it’s best to keep up with my summer reading. This time, I went to summer camp. Although this isn’t any ordinary summer camp, it’s Camp Lanier, where kids have been “going missing” for quite some time. Camp Lanier by Sylvester Barzey is a new release to bring some horror to your summer.
Disclaimer: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for free. All the thoughts and opinions here are my own.
Title: Camp Lanier Author: Sylvester Barzey Publication year: 2024 Length: 5 hours 37 minutes Genre: YA, Mystery, Horror, Fantasy Pace: Fast Story focus: Plot
Special offer alert! The ebook is currently FREE as a release promotion on various platforms like Kindle, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Books, and even Fable. So don’t miss out on this opportunity to read this YA horror. Find out more at Sterling & Stone.
Taylor is in big trouble. Being one of the few black people at her new private school, she just wants to fit in. And when the white privileged girls act like your friend, you trust them, right? Taylor did, and now she’s facing prison for shoplifting. The judge gives her an opportunity: to work during the summer at Camp Lanier instead. Although camp might prove to be worse than prison.
Horror is a genre I’m still discovering. I know that a story that lies heavily on supernatural stuff and evil spirits of a sort is probably a miss for me. Although there are exceptions. Not only that, but I’m learning that I can enjoy a story that uses supernatural elements. It’s how they are used that matters. And in Camp Lanier, it was a great mix.
When Taylor arrives at camp, she quickly realises some strange things are happening. No one can go swimming in the lake. No one can walk alone around camp. Last year, a girl went missing at camp, leaving behind a very desperate mother. And there’s one creepy little girl in a white dress walking around alone. Taylor’s first impressions of camp are not the best. And things only go downhill from there.
Camp Lanier is actually based on the true story behind Lake Lanier. A past filled with racism, injustice, destruction and brutality. The book brings to life a reality in which everything comes back to the present as a curse to Camp Lanier. That’s the primary point of the supernatural. To be a bridge between the past and the present. To set an ambient. Although, they aren’t the danger of camp. That’s why I enjoyed this book so much. There’s no need for supernatural beings when the Man is capable of such heinous crimes, both in the past and the present.
And speaking of ambient, the story developed too quickly. I like a fast-paced story, and the writing grabbed me from the first page, although I wish it was longer. To build more suspense. Give more time to know the other characters. Getting a better feeling of being at camp, and also populate it more. For a summer camp (which I’ve never been to), it felt a little empty. Taylor spent a lot of time alone or with just one other character. And while there are other people around, it’s just momentary, and then they sort of disappear. They don’t even exist in the background. Maybe Camp Lanier is too big for the people that attend it. Although since one of the rules was no one walks around alone, Taylor has a lot of opportunities to deal with creepy little girls on her own.
Despite that, I had a great time. I was pleasantly surprised with the path the story took. I enjoyed the occasional social commentary still very much needed nowadays. And it was a very enjoyable horror. Creepy enough, not exactly scary, but I could feel the thirst for revenge. Taylor is a great main character, keeping the story moving and not letting go when things get creepy. Pursuing justice above all, and I love those types of stories. The world is already too unjust, and it’s always good to read an alternate reality in which justice is made. Even if it takes years for a determined black teenager to arrive and a ghostly little girl to pair up and take down camp.
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